Offspring drummer stoked to be headlining Download!

On Saturday 14 June SoCal punks The Offspring will take to the stage at Donington race track for a headline set at the Download Festival. Rhythm caught up with Offspring drummer Pete Parada recently about the band's impending UK visit:

Rhythm: How does it feel to know you're headlining the Download Festival at Donington, the UK home of rock? Pete Parada: "I'm totally stoked to be playing at Donington. I remember watching the Castle Donington festival on MTV as a kid and just dreaming about playing at it. To be headlining it is unbelievable!"

What can fans expect from your set? Will you be bringing any crazy stage sets with you?"Our set will be action-packed from start to finish. As far as stage props go, since it's Castle Donington, I'm hoping for a dragon to appear during the encore."

Will you be playing a greatest hits set or will you be treating fans to new material?"I'm sure the set will be filled with all the hits, plus some brand new songs from our upcoming record 'Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace'."

What drum setup will you be playing?"I'll be playing my blue kit from C&C Custom drums, as I'm not sure if my new kit from them will be ready. It consists of a 20" kick, two 12" toms (one 5" deep and one 8" deep), a 16" floor tom, and a 13" brass snare drum, plus all Zildjian cymbals, Vater sticks and Remo heads."

Are there any other bands/ drummers you will be checking out at the festival?"I'm really happy that Ash is playing the same day as us. I've toured with them twice before. I love those guys. I wish we were playing with Judas Priest, since I played on Rob Halfords record years ago and haven't seen him for a while. But the whole line-up looks to be amazing, so I'm sure everyone will have a great time!"